The World is Mine: Serbia Returns to Eurovision

Serbia is back, y’all! And they are not messing around. Could Bojana Stamenov’s “Ceo svet je moj” be this year’s first major Eurovision contender?

Serbia’s back in Eurovision! Although last year’s show in Copenhagen was fantastic, Serbia’s presence was missed. The country took a year off, citing financial difficulties, though failing to qualify for the final in 2013 may have also forced the country to take a step back and regroup.

The time off served Serbia well, as I adore their selection “Ceo svet je moj” (The World is Mine) by Bojana Stamenov. Take a listen:

One of the reasons I love Serbia in the Eurovision Song Contest is because they know how to play the game. The song starts out with all the earmarks of a “Eurovision” song: mid-tempo ballad, an LED dress, the singer standing center stage with a straightforward delivery. Although these elements are cliché, Serbia executes at the highest level. Stamenov has a powerful voice and a charisma about her that is needed to elevate an entry from a good song to a contender. Also, a well-executed tempo change is my Eurovision catnip1 and this track accomplishes the feat with gusto.

Another reason I respect Serbia: they always compete in Serbian.2 Although English would make it easier for the bulk of the audience to understand the song, Serbia’s entries are able to convey the emotion and story of the song despite the language barrier. That, to me, is part of the point of the Contest and it should be rewarded when it happens.

Checking the odds at this point, Serbia is the top favorite of countries that have presented both song and artist. We still have a lot of entries to encounter between now and the real prognostication phase, but I suspect Serbia will be bouncing back from 2013.

See also: San Marino’s “Crisalide (Vola)” from 2013. I still feel gut-punched that it did not advance. ↵

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Mike has been writing about TV online since 2008, when he started the blog WTF Little House on the Prairie? The blog was a project to practice writing about television analytically prior to getting an MA in Television-Radio-Film from Syracuse University, or as he likes to call it "TV Camp." After a lengthy stint at TVLatest, Mike wanted to launch a site that brought in classic TV, diamonds in the rough, and the shows everybody watches. E-mail: mike@whatelseison.tv